Of Mikan and Men
by gaarafreak
Summary: A cute story following Sanji and Nami's love. It will end up being more than one chapter long, hopefully.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Of Mikan and Men

**Author:** Eichiro Oda created One Piece. I only borrow the characters for a short while to amuse myself.

**Author's Note:** My current kick is the manga, One Piece. My love for it demanded I write something revolving around my two favorite characters- Sanji and Nami. I love Nami especially… she's one of the best female characters I've read in a manga, even though she can't really fight too well (as of what I've read so far), but without her the crew of the "Going Merry" would be lost. And I mean, who doesn't love Sanji! curly eyebrows forever

Mikan – Japanese word for "mandarin", a type of orange or citrus fruit

Nakama – Japanese word meaning "crew", a group of people bound by a common purpose

**First Course**

Nami stared down at the map she was currently working on, her eyesight blurring as she struggled to finish the last details. The region she was charting was the patch of ocean they had traversed that day on the way toward the Going Merry's ultimate goal: One Piece.

Squinting again to refocus her attention, Nami realized the paper was still blurry. Growling under her breath, she fought the urge to slam her pen tip into the map in an ink-induced rage, instead carefully placing the quill in the inkwell and pushing her chair away from her desk.

Standing up, Nami grimaced as the flow of blood to her legs sent stinging cramps up her calves. _How long have I been working on that damn map? I should've gone to sleep hours ago…_

She glanced at her cabin door, longing for a walk to clear her mind. As soon as the tingling sensation dulled from her legs, she walked toward the door and then paused with sudden recollection. Turning around, she saw a long, ceramic mug sitting patiently atop her desk waiting to be returned to the kitchen for washing. She had snuck in many hours before in order to grab a cup of coffee, somehow avoiding Sanji, who had been strangely absent from his usual post.

Not that she was overly upset by his inexplicable absence; Nami was fully capable of making her own coffee… though she had to admit that Sanji's creations were on a completely different level than her own. Sighing, she snatched the mug and winced as she remembered the gritty taste of her coffee. _Hey, it did the job. Kept me awake this long._

Yawning, she stumbled out of her room and jolted in surprise when she saw the sky fading from indigo to the pale pink blue of dawn. The moon hung half transparent in the sky and only a handful of stars were still visible so close to morning. Just how many hours had she lost to her work from the previous day? Far more than she originally intended to give, but all the charting and navigation duties fell to her, along with the task of keeping the ship's log up to date.

Luffy, her captain, obviously trusted her completely with the hard duties of taking care of a ship and crew. At the moment, dealing with a massive headache and a pitiable lack of sleep, Nami wasn't sure whether to feel honored or rip her hair out by the roots. Surely there was another creature on board the Going Merry capable of logical thought besides her, but Luffy assigned her these responsibilities and thus she would toil on until victory. After all, she was the greatest navigator in the four oceans.

When the ship was out to sea for long periods of time, Nami often fell out of routine in order to keep up with her increased workload. Plotting the courses, charting the maps, writing the ship's log for Luffy, and maintaining a semblance of peace amidst her crewmates' natural state of chaos.

She was needed; she knew that with dire certainty, as she walked to the edge of the deck and leaned against the railing on her elbows, staring out at the horizon where the rolling sea kissed the dawning sky. _My friends trust me, so I rise to the occasion. Suck it up, Nami-girl, it's almost time to face another day._

Nami stood in place, entranced by the multihued wash of sky in the early hours. It was so calm without her nosy nakama around to shout challenges to each other and ask her simple questions that demanded detailed scientific answers.

A small grin tweaked one corner of her lips as she realized the silence was both relaxing and unnerving. Underneath the surface of her complaints, she felt no animosity toward her rambunctious crew. Everyday she spent as a Straw Hat pirate was ripe with possibilities.

_Ripe?_

"Ah!" Nami nearly dropped the mug. Luckily it was empty, so her fumbling attempts to catch it were without mess. Once the cup was safely in her grip again, she groaned, "I knew there was something I forgot! The mikan! I hope none of them dropped from the trees and got squashed…"

She grumbled under her breath as she rushed to the kitchen and deposited the empty mug in the sink, vaguely realizing that Sanji wasn't present even though she knew he woke every morning before dawn to get breakfast ready. Shrugging it off as coincidence, both his absence from last night and now, Nami crossed her arms close to her within her green, knitted shawl and walked out of the kitchen and toward the section of the ship's deck where her tangerine grove was located.

She neared the raised platform where the mini orchard grew, her view of the trees slightly obstructed by the makeshift gate that encircled it. Nami kept the orange grove as a reminder of the promise she made to her mother, Belliemere, to one day complete a map of the whole world. Of course, there were other, more practical uses for having a source of fresh fruit aboard a ship at sea. Scurvy wasn't a problem, and they had emergency food for awhile because of the trees, but normally Nami was very selective with whom she let near her oranges.

As soon as she rounded the gate, she froze in place. The trees were in perfect condition, without a single fallen or bruised orange on the ground. Beside that, a single basket full of mikan rested on the ground beneath a tree and Nami saw two legs sticking out from behind the tree. As she got closer, she recognized a familiar figure sprawled out asleep under the same tree as the basket.

At first, Nami experienced a rush of anger and started forward, assuming the only person who dared pass out in HER orchard was Zoro, who could sleep anywhere. She conjured up a fitting punishment as she stomped toward the slumbering man: a hefty fine for sleeping on her property. Her plan for monetary gain was dashed as she neared the tree, for she discovered it wasn't Zoro.

And so, she now knew where Sanji had been all night instead of in the kitchen or even in the boy's sleeping quarters.

Grinning, Nami shook her head and glanced at the basket of oranges. She had forgotten to pick the ripe fruit, that much she was sure. And everyone else on board the ship knew that it they got near her oranges without permission there would be berry to pay. _Sanji, however, is an exception,_ she thought to herself. She had trusted him with the care of her beloved trees from their first moment onboard together.

It was nice to know that even if she dropped the ball once in awhile, he would be the one to catch it. It was the small things he did, the important things, the quiet things, which got to her and broke away at the wall she placed between them.

They were more alike than either of them let on, and times she felt that it she left the Going Merry to pursue her dream through another course, he would follow her.

Not that she would ever want to leave this crazy place with all her friends here.

Taking a deep breath, Nami rubbed her eyes as she mentally beat the nonsensical thoughts out of her brain. _I'm too tired for this… I should just go wash up and change into some clean clothes. That'll make me feel better._

She reached down, careful to stay away from stray twigs and keep her footsteps silent. Her hand closed around the handle of the basket and she pulled it up, only realizing too late that Sanji had positioned one arm around the bottom of the basket, as if to protect it.

He must have felt the basket move, even in his sleep, and leapt up to face her as if she were some sort of fruit thief. The sudden action disagreed with his groggy state, however, and his legs crumpled underneath him, laying him out flat on his back again. "Ack!"

"Sanji!" Nami exclaimed, surprised by the sudden display, both her hands wrapped around the handle of her basket. She leaned over where he was laid out like an indignant length of string. He peered up at her with his right eye visible, the left one hidden behind his swoop of blond hair. During the fall, his carton of cigarettes had been thrown a few feet away and were scattered out of the box, so when he reached to his pocket for a smoke he found nothing.

"Ah, is that you, Nami-swan? So beautiful, even this earlier in the morning..." he seemed to lack the tone of utter servitude, having just woken up. If she gave him a few minutes, he would no doubt bounce back to his normal, overwhelming self.

"Sanji, how long have you been out here?" Nami asked, stepping back to give him room to sit up and yawn.

He brushed off his blue pinstriped, button up shirt as best he could and ran a hand through his slightly mussed hair. "Hm… all night, I think. Zoro, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper opened a couple of bottles of rum and we all drank ourselves silly. But, then, while I was trying to sleep, I thought about how hard you were working, being the compassionate goddess you always are, and remembered that you hadn't the time to care for your beloved oranges…"

"You came out and picked these for me so late at night?" Nami was taken back by his kindness all over again, having heard it straight from his mouth. "And even though you were drunk?"

"Sorry if you're upset, Nami-swan!" he apologized, suddenly realizing she might be angry with his presumptuous behavior. He stumbled to his feet, his extremely long legs giving him a sizable height advantage over her even though his shoulders and back hunched as he bowed to her. "I didn't mean to imply that you're irresponsible! I know you can take care of these trees far better than any of these idiots onboard."

A smile spread across her face almost involuntarily, as it usually did when she was around him. Her expression obviously affected him, a blush colored his cheeks pink and faint hearts shone behind his eyes, just for her. She quickly recognized the onset of his love-love attack, and all but tossed the basket into his arms, grabbing a single orange out as he held it. "Thanks, Sanji, you did a great job. I can always count on you to remember things like this. A reward, I think, is in order."

Sanji watched her walk over to his scattered cigarettes and bend down to pick one up. Holding it between her index and middle finger, she returned to stand in front of him, and pressed it delicately between her lips. Then she looked up at him through her eyelashes, expectantly.

His heart sped up, and it took him a full minute of gaping in confusion before he realized what she wanted. Nearly dropping the basket of oranges, he fumbled in his pocket for his lighter, and lit the tip of her cigarette with a quick flick of his fingers, the movement of a professional chain smoker.

Inhaling deeply as he lit the cigarette for her, Nami held the smoke in her lungs for a second before blowing it out at him. He watched her, unable to form his usual gushing words of love, as she plucked the cigarette out of her lips and carefully placed it between his. His voice wavered as he sighed like a love stricken teenager, "Nami-san…"

Grinning widely, she stepped back and held her orange up to her face as if to salute him as she winked. Then she spun on her heel and trotted back toward her quarters, leaving him in a lovely daze as the cigarette burned down to ash between his teeth.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Of Mikan and Men

**Author:** Eichiro Oda created One Piece. I only borrow the characters for a short while to amuse myself.

**Author's Note:** Remember! This story is based off the manga version of One Piece, not so much the anime. I have nearly no knowledge of the anime, so please bear with me. And thanks for all the great reviews. Oh, and the song I listened to while writing this part was Flogging Molly's "Devil's Dance Floor". Very pirate-ish. curly eyebrows forever

**Sweet Deals**

A few days later, Nami was standing on the deck of the ship, now wearing a heavy wool sweater and pants due to the recent drop in temperature over the part of the ocean they were passing through. She cupped her mitten covered hands together and blew into them, the tip of her nose red and nipped by the frosty air. Staring out at the endless expanse of sea before them, she wondered exactly how far it would take to reach the next island in the Grand Line.

The sudden patch of chilly weather worried her, but she knew that all normal climate patterns were nonexistent here in this portion of the sea. So long as she kept a close eye on the sky and sea, she would steer the Going Merry through all danger safely.

A nudge at her elbow brought Nami's attention from scrutinizing the skies to the person standing at her side. Sanji produced a tray from behind him with a flourish that only he was capable of, elegantly offering her a steaming mug of hot chocolate. "I thought you might be cold out here by yourself, Nami-swan! So I brought you something to warm you up, that is, unless you'd like me to keep you warm?"

She raised one eyebrow at him as she took the hot chocolate. He made no move to make good on the statement, which amused her. "Ah, Sanji, you're all talk. But thanks for the cocoa."

Holding the warm mug between her hands, she swung her gaze back out to the ocean in front of the ship. Constant vigilance was important, though she did yearn to laugh and scamper around like the rest of the crew did most of the time. Her position called for a little bit more self-control and a little less craziness than the others'.

After a few minutes, a tiny flicking noise brought her attention back to where Sanji had stood. He was still there, standing beside her, only the tray was now empty and under his arm and he was lighting a cigarette as he stared in the same direction she was. "You don't have to stay out here, you know. It's warmer inside, in fact, it's probably the warmest in the kitchen!"

He glanced at her sidelong and grinned, the cigarette held fast between his teeth. "I'm touched! Nami-swan… worried about me! I could faint from happiness."

Sighing, Nami rolled her eyes to focus back on their course. Nothing changed. It was still freezing, and it seemed to be getting even colder. "Ah, I really wish we'd hit land soon! I want to go shopping and buy something pretty…"

"And I want to go with you!" Sanji agreed, happily. "It'd be heaven to carry your bags for you, to watch you try on beautiful clothes!" He clenched his hands into fists that shook with joy as his eyes shone with hearts. "Mini skirts! True paradise!"

Shaking her head, she gave up on having a serious conversation with him at the moment, handing him the mug before she strode toward the mast. She scaled the hand and foot holds up the mast to finally swing into the crow's nest, where she found a pair of binoculars waiting. Whistling appreciatively, Nami scooped up the binoculars and swung her vision out to sea. Then she jolted in place.

Sanji, from his spot on the deck below, stared up at her as he puffed on his cigarette. "You see something, Nami-san?"

"Land ho!" Nami pointed in the direction she had seen the sliver of land appear through the binoculars. She couldn't see the island yet from regular vision, but with the enhanced vision these Usopp-made binoculars gave her, it was clear. Grinning, she decided that such a valuable tool shouldn't be left to the hands of just anyone, and thus she hung the leather strap around her neck and climbed back down the mast.

Everyone was now standing on the deck, gazing at her in confusion. They couldn't see the island yet, either. Luffy scratched his head under his wide, straw hat and asked, "Are you sure, Nami? I don't see anything…"

"Hey, now! Who's the navigator here? You?" She quirked an eyebrow at the clueless captain and crossed her arms. "No, I thought not. I say there's an island, then there's an island, even if you can't see it! Besides, the Lock Post is pointing in the same direction. So it has to be there."

"How long until we reach port?" Chopper asked, his hooves clicking a tune as they betrayed his happiness. "Not that I care or anything! Just more humans, what's to see?"

Nami rolled her eyes and calculated their current rate of travel, along with the approximate distance of the island she had seen through the binoculars. "A little over an hour, I'd say. We should be able to see the island in less than thirty minutes… if this fog wasn't so thick we might even be able to see the outline from here."

They stood in place, staring at her for what seemed like whole minutes, until she finally snapped, "What are you waiting for? Come on, we've got work to do!"

Everyone ran in opposite directions for fear of their lives or at the very least, a painful retribution.

About an hour later, the Going Merry was indeed pulled into port and Nami was walking off the ship onto the solid, wooden dock. She grinned, though it was very cold still and the fog hadn't disappeared, but at least she was off that ship for a while.

As much as she loved the ship, it was a little small. Every now and then it was good to stretch her legs and feel the hard dirt under her shoes.

However, Nami didn't have long to reveal in the tiny wonders of life on dry land, because a familiar voice ordered from directly behind her, "Outta the way, Nami! I want me some meat and I want it now!"

Nami instantly jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding Luffy's charge to get to the nearest restaurant. She clutched at her heart, eyes wide as she watched Luffy's figure disappear into the foggy distance. "Idiot… sometimes, I wonder how someone as dumb as him can lead a whole crew of people."

"It's good to know I'm not alone in my worries," another voice piped up from beside her. She knew without having to look that Sanji stood next to her, no doubt dressed to kill. He always took the opportunity to scout out the prettiest girls when in town, because who knew when he'd get another chance? Ports were few and far between in the Grand Line.

"Well, I'll see you when it's time to leave, Sanji," Nami smiled at him and started walking away.

"Hey, hey, Nami-san! So cruel!" he cried, making her halt mid-step. "You promised I could help you go shopping."

Now she did turn around, surprised that he hadn't been joking on the ship about carrying her bags. As usual, his elegant attire nearly made her gawk in amazement when he finally came within her sight.

He wore black pants that were loose enough to allow to easily leg movement, a button-up, long sleeve, dark blue shirt with grey tie under a jacket made of quality, black suede that stopped just above his knees. He wore black gloves and a dark grey, knitted scarf that wrapped around his neck twice though it still managed to trail down his back and near to his knees.

She realized she was staring when Sanji cocked his head to the side and smiled at her questioningly. Irritated at herself, Nami snapped out of her admiring stupor and huffed, "Fine, you can come. Try not to embarrass me too much, okay?"

Grinning widely, Sanji high-stepped after her, nearly singing, "Hai, Nami-swan!"

The city was covered in snow, as Nami had expected from so cold a climate. However, unlike the previous wintry town they had visited, this one was obviously prosperous and very beautiful.

The snowflakes drifted in glittery specks down to the ground, where it formed a thick layer of powder. Nami let out of a gasp of wonder as she stared up at the sky, her breath a puff of steam against the chilly air. "Wow, it's so pretty… I never noticed at the other winter town how nice the snow looks."

Sanji's expression darkened and his hair seemed to cover his face as he said, "Yeah, well, you know… you weren't really in the right state to appreciate the weather. You were pretty sick, Nami-san."

She watched him out of the corner of her eye as they walked on in silence for a few more moments. Finally, his usual smile burst forth, calming her worries, as he continued, "But it's all right now! Chopper's teacher got you fixed up, no problem. In any event, we have Chopper on board now to keep everyone healthy."

Nami nodded in agreement, which Sanji took as a cue to keep talking. "And no one stops to think how badly everyone needs you, Nami-swan. But I do, you're the best navigator I've ever known, hands down. Beside that, you take care of all of us."

Desperate to get away from the topic, Nami darted into the first clothing store she saw, making Sanji jolt in shock when he found her missing. He whirled around, confused as to where she could have gotten to so fast, but eventually decided to wait there in case she came back. He figured she probably saw a pair of shoes or some jewelry she wanted to buy. Or, dare he hope… a nice, slinky dress?

As he fidgeted happily, imagining just how sexy the dress would be, Nami watched him from behind the safety of the store window. Once she was sure he wasn't going to come in after her, she surveyed the selection of women's clothing the store had to offer. There were a few interesting pieces of clothing, though only one shirt caught her eye and demanded immediate purchase.

After the article was bought, wrapped and stowed in a paper bag, Nami left the store, swinging her shopping bag happily. Ah, the exchange of moneys was such a beautiful thing! More lovely than the snowflakes above her head!

She whistled a tune as she walked back to where Sanji was seated on a bench, waiting. Thrusting out her bag at him, he caught it easily and smiled. "A good purchase, then?"

"It was on sale, can you believe that?" Nami grinned and rested her hands on her hips. "They basically **gave** it away. But I guess they really stood no chance, haggling with me."

"Of course," Still smiling, Sanji held her bag in one hand and used the other to remove his cigarette from his mouth, flicking the ashes off onto the snow before placing it back between his lips. "Shall we continue, Nami-swan?"

She eyed him as he heaved to his feet. "Um, Sanji, not that I don't enjoy your company, but don't you have something to do before we leave?"

"Like what?" he asked. He seemed honestly confused as to what could be more important than spending time with her. "If you mean the grocery shopping, I'll get it done right before we leave. There's not much I have to buy, just some meat and grains…"

"No, no, not that," Nami waved his answer away. "I mean, like visit a bar or something. You usually head to a tavern with Luffy and Zoro when we're at port. You know, to pick up women."

His cheeks reddened as she finished speaking, and she was sure it wasn't from the biting cold wind. She stared at him, wondering why he was so flustered, but not pressing the point if he didn't want to talk about it. Finally, Nami smiled at him and shrugged, assuming she had guessed correctly. "Hey, don't get so uptight! If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I was just saying, you don't have to come along with me if you have something else you'd rather be doing. I can carry my own stuff."

When she moved to take her bag from him, not upset in the least, he suddenly held it up high, out of her reach. This irritated her. "What're you doing? I'm trying to be nice to you! It's okay if you don't want to hang out with me, just give me my bag back so I can keep shopping."

He held the bag up higher, standing up straight, and announced, "Nami-swan, if I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be here! Those other women, well… you know how you like to have drinking matches to see how many drinks you can get down before passing out? I'm sort of that way about women."

Nami smacked her own forehead and groaned. "Sanji, do you even think before you speak? Do you know how bad that sounded?"

"Yes, I do, in fact!" he puffed out his chest and finally dropped his arms, but made no move to give her the bag back. "Now, let's continue on. You don't have nearly enough clothing to stop yet."

Nami shrugged and they walked down the street toward the next shop. With a grin, she asked, "So, Sanji, would you say your enjoyment of women is based on quantity or quality?"

"Nami-san! Why do you ask me these things? Do you enjoy tormenting me so?" he whined, blushing and squirming as they continued down the street. Nami's laughter rang out as they entered the next shop with Sanji still evading the question. "For that, you have to buy a skimpy dress to wear to dinner later!"

"Ha!" she tossed his words aside easily. "I was planning on it even before you said that. So don't think I'm doing it for you, pervert."

"Ah! Nami-swan, you cut me! You cut me deep!" Sanji held his hands to his heart, her bag hanging by the crook of his elbow. "Now add new stilettos to the deal for that insult!"

She quirked an eyebrow at him and grinned, leaning close to him, "You paying?"

He returned her smirk with one of his own and pulled out his wallet. "Of course! Anything for you."

Standing up straight, she nodded in satisfaction. "Right then. You got yourself a deal, cook. Skimpy dress with stilettos it is."

Sanji's eyes turned to hearts as she began searching through the racks of clothing for the perfect dress.


End file.
